Chilean foreign ministry first responded to Morales' claims saying that "the accusation by Bolivian President is totally unfounded, there is no such alleged military installation” but that the Armed Forces had merely built up its presence on the border.

Chile has been building up its troops along the border for months, ostensibly to tackle cross border crime. However, border security in Chile has been traditionally handled by soldiers known as the Carabiniers of Chile, the gendarmerie of the country.

Tensions between Chile and Bolivia have grown over the latter's effort to secure a sovereign exit to the sea. The coastal territory was taken from Bolivia in The War of the Pacific, which ran from 1879 to 1883.